Helen H. Baker

Subjective and objective admissions factors as predictors of clinical clerkship performance.

Subjective and objective measures available at the time of medical school admission were related to subjective and objective clinical performance measures during medical school. Strategies were developed for coding narrative faculty comments from admissions interviews and clinical performance evaluations. Factor analysis was used to examine underlying structures for both admission and clinical performance measures. Summed scores were calculated to represent each factor, and multiple regression was used in predicting each of the clinical factors from the admission factors. Multiple regression showed that admission interview comments best predict narrative clerkship performance, while objective scores best predict an objective measure of clinical knowledge. Conclusions were: (a) narrative information can be coded reliably. (b) Objective and subjective measures are distinct, identifiable structures both at admission and during the third year of medical school. (c) Prediction formulas will vary depending on what outcome variables are chosen.

Relationship of Admissions Variables and College of Osteopathic Medicine Variables to Performance on COMLEX-USA Level 3

CONTEXT New accreditation standards require that all US colleges of osteopathic medicine (COMs) publically report the first-time pass rates of graduates on the Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination-USA (COMLEX-USA) Level 3. Little is known about the extent to which admissions variables or COM performance measures relate to Level 3 performance. OBJECTIVE To examine the relationship of admissions variables and COM performance to scores on Level 3 and to assess whether a relationship existed between Level 3 scores and sex, curriculum track, year of graduation, and residency specialty in the first postgraduate year. METHODS Data were analyzed from 4 graduating classes (2008-2011) of the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine in Lewisburg. Relationships were examined between first-attempt scores on COMLEX-USA Level 3 and Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) scores; undergraduate grade point averages (GPAs); GPAs in COM year 1, year 2, and clinical rotation years (years 3 and 4); and first-attempt scores on COMLEX-USA Level 1, Level 2-Cognitive Evaluation, and Level 2-Performance Evaluation. RESULTS Of the 556 graduates during this 4-year period, COMLEX-USA Level 3 scores were available for 552 graduates (99.3%). No statistically significant differences were found in Level 3 scores based on sex, curriculum track, graduating class, or residency specialty. The strongest relationship between Level 3 scores and any admissions variable was with total MCAT score, which accounted for 4.2% of the variation in Level 3 scores. The strongest relationship between Level 3 scores and COM year performance measures was with year 2 GPA, which accounted for 35.4% of the variation in Level 3 scores. Level 1 scores accounted for 38.5% of the variation in Level 3 scores, and Level 2-Cognitive Evaluation scores accounted for the greatest percentage of variation (45.7%). The correlation of Level 3 scores with passing the Level 2-Performance Evaluation on the first attempt was not statistically significant. CONCLUSION A weak relationship was found between admissions variables and performance on COMLEX-USA Level 3, suggesting that graduates with lower MCAT scores and undergraduate GPAs may have overcome their early disadvantage. Strong relationships were found between Level 3 scores and year 2 GPAs, as well as scores on COMLEX-USA Level 1 and Level 2-Cognitive Evaluation.

Women in Osteopathic and Allopathic Medical Schools: An Analysis of Applicants, Matriculants, Enrollment, and Chief Academic Officers

In the 1993-1994 academic year, female enrollment was 34.7% in osteopathic medical schools and 40.2% in allopathic medical schools. To assess progress in female enrollment since that time, the authors examined admission data in the ensuing years, including female applicants, matriculants, and first-year students in osteopathic and allopathic medical schools, as well as female chief academic officers at these institutions. In the 2004-2005 academic year, 50.3% of first-year students in osteopathic medical schools were women; however, by the 2013-2014 academic year, that figure dropped to 44.2%. The percentage rose slightly by the 2016-2017 academic year to 45.9%. Additionally, for the 2016-2017 academic year, allopathic medical schools had a significantly higher proportion of female matriculants than did osteopathic medical schools (49.8% vs 45.9%, respectively; P<.001).